Something More Than Everything
by Yotsubadancesintherain5
Summary: There's eons worth of memories, across all time and all possibilities. Part 1 of the A Mighty Ocean or a Gentle Kiss series.
1. 1-10

**A/N: Originally posted on AO3 on May 31 2018 to June 20 2018**

**I will love you with no strings attached  
I will love you with without a single string attached**

**-Sleeping at Last, Two **

**1\. Paint:**

There were certain days that Sapphire was completely at a loss as to why Rose Quartz and her terrifying, renegade Pearl decided that this planet was worth saving. Sometimes it asked because of the appearance of some wild animal (Ruby fought it off with her rage alone) or something like the tangly, disgusting web that was still clinging to the back of her hair. It was annoyingly persistent.

But, as Sapphire tried unsuccessfully again to grab at the sticky web, some of the Diamond court would say the same about her and Ruby. If she so chose, she could've elected any Ruby as her personal guard, and done whatever she'd like with the soldier. It would've been a lot less trouble than tossing aside her duties, or falling down on this planet infested with dangerous creatures.

There were days that she couldn't quite articulate the reason either; some days that the words seemed prettier in her head, and would become horribly distorted if she tried to voice them.

For now, as they walked over powdery ground and Sapphire tried her hardest to grab at that web again, she put away those thoughts. The powdery ground gave way to small, grainy rocks with languid waves and colorful seashells.

Ruby had stomped up a lot of the powder ground, and was covered in it, matching Sapphire's discomfort with the web. She yelled as she tried to brush it off, opting for lying down on the grainy rocks and rolling around. All it did was leave streaks of the earthy powder into the sand. The yelling got much louder.

Sapphire lay down on the rocks, and moved her head. When she got up, to her relief the web was dislodged. She scooped up the sand and threw it into the water.

She came back to see Ruby lying face down, utterly defeated. She pulled the other gem up, and saw that the streaks got larger.

"Interesting," she said. She got Ruby to her feet, and then went to grab a seashell. She attempted to break it, but it scratched against her gem.

Ruby helped her with it, and the seashell turned into a red, fine powder. Ruby watched as Sapphire spread the powder into the sand, a streak of red above the light brown powder.

Ruby understood immediately, and went to grab more seashells. Before long there were many colors along the shore, pink and orange and blue and purple, some of them mixing and some washed away by the ocean waves.

Sapphire looked up once from their handiwork, to see Ruby mixing the powder from a red seashell and the yellowish sand. There was powder up to her elbows, and there was some that was smeared against her cheeks. She was smiling widely as she found that it made a new color.

Sapphire decided then that she would take this new life without a doubt, filled with vicious creatures and nauseating webs, if it meant that she could see that smile forever.

**2\. Sway:**

During Rose's rousing speech for the Crystal Gems to potentially earn her more allies, Ruby wandered around the kindergarten and felt like her gem was slammed against something hard enough to break. For in this kindergarten that was going to be abandoned, there were two other rubies that she knew very well, and instantly recognized her. For all talk that rubies were dumb, apparently fusion left more of an imprint in memory.

They stared, until Ruby spoke first; that they didn't have to accept their lot in life and that they could go on with the Crystal Gems.

"But you ran away," one Ruby said, "We're supposed to bring Sapphire back. She didn't have to run."

"How are we supposed to go on without our orders?" the other added.

Ruby tried to explain, "We don't, I don't," all of the identification she and so many others were saddled with clouding her words, "You don't have to take orders."

"You still do," the other Ruby said.

"She was our Sapphire, too."

Ruby couldn't articulate that this was different, it was all so different and she was tired of doubting herself, but she couldn't get the words to stay put and work. And some part of her was jealous, that this wasn't the same thing, she wasn't just assigned to Sapphire and expected to work, what they had was different in ways that even she couldn't figure out.

"It was my choice," Sapphire said, concise. There was something icy about her words, that she dared anybody to say otherwise.

"But Blue Diamond-"

"If you do not wish to join us," Sapphire said, "Please, go back to your Diamond. There is no point in wasting time on us."

It was a compassion that would become rare in the battles on the horizon. The other rubies accepted it, and soon were gone from sight.

In the distance, there were cheers and Ruby knew that in any other situation she would've joined in the rousing cheers, Rose's speech that granted more allies against the Diamonds. Now, her thoughts entirely silent, she kept her head lowered.

**3\. Sticks and Stones (Human AU):**

Sapphire's hair was almost free from its braids as she chased one of her friends around a big rock monument. This area of the park was filled with shrieks and laughter, and some found the mud around the rock the most fun toy.

Sapphire almost caught her friend, her hand reaching out to grab at his shirt, but her foot slipped on the mud and she fell, hard. There was a hush in the air, and Sapphire could feel many eyes staring at her. She leaned upward, feeling the mud slid into her overalls' front pocket and clump at the bottom part of her hair.

Her chin wobbled and her eyes blurred, but then there was another squelch of mud, and another girl fell beside Sapphire. Her name was something like a gem, too, Sapphire remembered through her tears.

The other gem-named girl laughed, showing that she'd lost two of her canine baby teeth, and she threw a clump of mud at Sapphire's friend. He smiled widely and gathered up mud in his arms.

It soon became a war of mud, and it got more frantic when some of the kids found some sticks to joust with and rocks to roll up into the mud. It became difficult to tell from friend to foe, and it became a free-for-all battle. Before long, everyone was covered with mud, with a little blood from the stick wars for some of the kids.

Sapphire walked home, wondering how her parents would react to this, with the other gem-named girl that gleefully announced her name as Ruby. Sapphire was grateful to her new friend.

**4\. Museum:**

Garnet had gotten separated from the others at the natural history museum. She was aware of how this happened, that the group had moved on without realizing that she didn't follow, but there were no future strings that said anything horrible came out of this so she didn't worry.

For she'd found the area that described how sand and water existed into the ocean, with an area to demonstrate this. Garnet had dug through the sand, watching the water rush in, then place the sand over it, watching the water get soaked in.

Occasionally a child would join her and then leave, but for now that was all.

Once, a staff member came by and asked, "Miss, would you like to see some of the other exhibits?"

"I am fine."

And so the staff member gave a winning smile and went on to her other duties.

It was comforting, these repetitive motions. Something where she knew that the sand would swallow up the water or that the water would spill over the sand. Certainly this would be considered healthier than a game, she reasoned.

Only one thing broke her out of the trance, "Gaaaarnet," Steven called out, "There you are! Come with me, there's heavy weights that me an' Connie can pull up!"

Garnet smiled down at the boy that was tugging at her arm. As she fixed the sand she thought that Pearl would've corrected, "Connie and I." When she was done she replied, "Show me the way, Steven."

**5\. Practical:**

Ruby had retreated into her gem. She'd defused from Sapphire, and took the brunt of the attack. She wasn't shattered, or at least as far as she knew. Perhaps there was little difference between forced retreatment and shattering.

In time she shook her head of these notions and knew then that she was going to reform at some point. Her mind went to indulgences, but she shooed them away harder than usual. This was not the time for indulgence; it was the time for practicality.

When she returned, Sapphire was there and she visibly relaxed. Ruby opted for a star across her stomach, a symbol that she hadn't been crushed by the enemy's attack.

"It still hurt, though," Ruby muttered.

"I am sorry."

"No, no, don't apologize," Ruby said. "I made my choice."

She took a good look at their surroundings. "Where is everyone?"

"The Homeworld soldiers fled," Sapphire said. "The others went to fight another battle, and I was to carry you back to base camp."

"Alone?"

"I hid my star emblem. Would a Homeworld soldier question a Sapphire?"

Ruby didn't quite know the answer. So she asked, "Can I tell you something?"

"Of course." Sapphire fixed her clothing, the star emblem decorating the ruffles of her dress.

"Sometimes I get sick of… this," Ruby said. She gestured to her clothing, something that was obviously what a soldier would wear.

"I want to chose, you know," she added. "Sometimes I don't want something practical, and we have Garnet, but I can't seem to forget…"

Sapphire nodded. "It is hard to shake past orders."

Ruby looked away, her hands clutching at the star that was on her shirt.

"When the war is over," Sapphire said, "There will not be anything to stop you."

It was a statement of truth, and Ruby wondered how far Sapphire could See.

Sometimes it was too much to imagine this much freedom, the end of Homeworld's attacks, so Ruby took this small hope and accepted it.

"When the war is over, there won't be anything to stop me," she repeated. It felt good to say.

**6\. Over:**

It was night time, and Garnet was digging in the sand, her hands efficiently scooping up the particles and tossing them aside. For what purpose this was for she wasn't quite sure yet, but it was enough to quell the poisonous thoughts that swirled around her head.

She gritted her teeth at the betrayal, this soothing ritual interrupted by a particularly poisonous thought. Pearl had lied, had used her to feel stronger, and regret flared up in Garnet that by some proxy she'd used Amethyst for power.

This wasn't right. This wasn't what fusion was supposed to be used for, a pale imitation of Homeworld. Were they any better if they employed fusion for their own needs, instead of reaching out for each other?

Garnet dug through the sand with renewed motivation, uncovering the darker parts of the sand and throwing it into the ocean.

She fought in the war to exist, and now Homeworld was threatening it again. There could be another war, but they didn't have anything to combat this, and everything they worked for could be extinguished in the blink of an eye.

If they could even work together again; every memory was tainted by this grievance, and for a moment Garnet wished she was back in that thicket where it seemed like she'd finally found others that understood, fully and completely.

She reflected on this, and thought that she didn't want this to be over. But it would take time to be able to trust again.

**7\. Speak:**

It was Garnet's turn with the baby. It came down to this because Greg had caught a cold, and Pearl declared that she was the best at caring for human diseases and pretty much quarantined Greg until he would get better.

It would be a few hours before it was Amethyst's turn to take care of Steven. She was out buying groceries and more over-the-counter medicine and a lot more soap than what was needed. Pearl had insisted.

Now, Garnet was guiding Steven through the difficult task of eating. She liked food in the small degree but mushy food seemed more like a punishment.

"Someday you'll be able to eat better food," she said to him. She spooned another serving into his mouth.

He gurgled some of the food out, and Garnet merely tried to catch it with the spoon. Eventually he ate the food like he was supposed to, but babbling took its place.

"What is it?" Garnet asked. She smiled as she pressed her forehead to his, lightly. "Speak, little one."

"Mo." Steven tried to grab at the jar.

"More? Are you sure? You really want more?"

"More." His arms hit the high chair's table.

Garnet blinked. This was supposed to be a milestone in human development, she was quite sure. But it didn't seem quite fair to be the only one to witness it.

"We will keep this a secret," she said as she gave him another spoonful. And perhaps she would keep a video tape ready.

**8\. White noise:**

Garnet had heard many awful noises in the past. Sounds that she was not able to control, whether from strange animal, human or gem. Sounds that reverberated into her very being, threatening to tear her apart, the cold, meticulous voice of the one that ordered her destroyed.

But this, she could control this.

Steven had tried to fix the television, the white noise crackling and gray snow on its screen, turning it on and off, unplugging it and plugging it back in.

Garnet took action and punched it; the noise ceased.

Steven sighed. "Guess we don't have a TV again."

**9\. Snow storm:**

The white, powdery snow whipped around, the sky dark and the path obscured. It had been stipulated by the other troops that if they got separated to just keep going until they reached the camp. The base camp was somewhere up in the mountains. It was safer for gems but that didn't mean this wasn't annoying.

"I can't see anything!" Ruby complained, and got a mouthful of snow for her trouble. She felt the snow turn to water, and she spat it out. She turned around and groped through the snow drift, finally gripping a glove-covered hand.

"I think we're almost there, Sapph-" More snow, and Ruby tried to scream through it. She ended up gargling the water.

She pushed forward through the drift, the heat of her body making it easier but not by much.

"I'm sorry, Ruby."

Ruby turned to see Sapphire standing motionless, icy spikes beginning to form around her.

"Uh-oh."

"If I had Seen that boulder faster, then we wouldn't have defused and Garnet would be here-"

"Don't blame yourself!" Ruby knelt down to try to melt away the spikes. "We're going to be fine."

Sapphire was freed, and they continued on into the snow storm.

**10\. Present:**

It was Pearl that insistent on walks for Steven. It would be good for the toddler, she reasoned, and Greg agreed. The part where they, rarely, mutually disagreed was when Amethyst said it would be good training against gem monster fighting.

This would be left up to the future, Garnet thought, as she helped Steven walk along the side walk. His future was much like these fall leaves; never knowing what color they would be until it happened, but loved all the same.

He tried to squirm out of her grasp, and she let go of his hands. He toddled over to a big pile of leaves, sifting through them.

"What will you find, Steven?" she asked. Her mind went through the possible futures (pill bug, chestnut, more leaves, acorn, frog) and it was good to think of something mundane.

"Duck!" Steven declared, holding up a leaf. He put it close to Garnet's face. "Duck! Duck!"

"That is not a duck, Steven."

"Duck!" Steven pointed his finger at the leaf, and a curve there did resemble a duck.

"Present," he said, firmly, and placed it in her hand before going back to the pile.

Garnet kept it until it disintegrated.


	2. 11-20

**11\. Quitting:**

Sometimes there were defectors. For those that the strain of war was unbearable, and found it better to go back and face horrible punishment instead of continue on like this.

In the beginning, Garnet as the one that protested vehemently when this occurred. Quitting would result in shattering or worse; there was no telling what Homeworld was capable of; rebellions did not go over easy.

In the end, there were many that convinced, for the betterment of their uneasy friends. It was just the same.

There was no future in turning back for rebels. Homeworld mercy was an imaginary ideal.

**12\. Immortal:**

Garnet's first interaction with humans was, at first, at a jovial dance until there was a shrill scream and one of them stumbled. The human clutched at her stomach, and that's all that Garnet could see before the human was quickly whisked away to someplace safer.

Rose followed, and she was carrying a vial of something, Pearl close to her side. Garnet was not sure what to do, and followed as well. She followed them to what Rose had described to her earlier as a medical area, with the woman on the soft platform and more humans at her side. There was one in particular by her side, a man that held the afflicted woman's hand as she screamed.

For a long while there was a mixture of screams and shouts, then a new one, one higher than the rest. Garnet saw a smaller human, covered in something red and mucous-like before Garnet's attention was turned to Pearl rushing off for more cloth.

The woman had gone silent, a few shallow breaths, and Garnet heard Rose say that she lost a lot of something. The last word wasn't heard because Rose rushed to the man at the woman's side, giving him the vial.

"Water," she said, and he carefully tilted the water onto cloth to press against the woman's forehead. Almost instantaneously she began to look better, her breathing becoming stronger.

It wasn't until later, when everything fell into place, that Rose explained to Garnet what occurred. Garnet thought it very lucky that Rose was there.

And she was a little relieved. This was something that affected humans only, not gems. Perhaps being immortal staved off these sorts of events.

**13\. Freak out:**

"Did he say that right? Sapphire, Steven must've said it wrong. There's no way that-"

"Pink Diamond… It can't, it can't be, no, no, I, I…"

"Sapphire, don't freak out, there must be… there's no way…"

"She was Pink Diamond. Ruby, what else would've she hidden?"

"Nothing! Sapphire, it's okay, it's-"

"She hid Bismuth, she hid her identity, no wonder… No wonder she said to never question this!"

"Sapphire-"

"Were we just toys to her?! I can't stand this, what if she knew about the cluster?! What if she knew everything that Homeworld was planning?! She could've told us, we trusted her, nobody could've suffered, our friends, everyone, everyone, they're all- because of her-"

"Sapphire, we don't _know _that!"

"Of course we don't, because she, she-"

There was a hard sound, and there was a futile, "Sapphire," before a scream rang out in the air.

"She _lied_ to us!"

**14\. Home alone:**

Garnet walked into the house carrying groceries, and balancing a new bottle of laundry detergent on her head. She went to the kitchen counter to place down the items. She looked around to see that nobody else was home.

"A new mission," she surmised to herself. She got to putting away the groceries, and to put the new bottle of laundry detergent outside. She got the clean clothes from the dryer and brought them inside.

Since she was home alone, Garnet began to sing, "A mountain of rain, all of it is the same," a melody made up on the spot. She began to fold the clothes as she sang.

She heard the front door open and Amethyst looked away, looking a little guilty.

"I, uh, wasn't listening or nothing. Pearl and Steven will be back from the arcade soon."

She got to work on folding clothes, in a way that Garnet thought Pearl would scold her. She wanted to let the other gem know that it was okay that Amethyst caught her singing but decided to drop the matter.

**15\. Haunted:**

"Climb up the wall, Ruby," Sapphire said.

"Oh," Ruby replied. She loosened her grip on the controller. Steven had given them the cartridge, _Hunger_, late at night saying that it would be fun for the two to play. He'd fallen asleep after Ruby got through the first level.

"Geez, is this ship haunted, or what?" Ruby asked when the third groan emitted from the TV. She carefully guided her character across the steel beam.

"Well, it's-"

The protagonist jumped across to a board, and then up some stairs.

"The Custodian is going to follow you."

"Ah, thanks, Sapphire," Ruby said, a little rushed, and she watched as her character ran out of his reach. She came across an elevator, with no visible way to hide.

"No, no, no, what do I do, no, no, no, no, no-"

She climbed up the gate of the elevator. Unfortunately, when the elevator door opened it dropped her in the line of sight of the Custodian and he caught her in no time. The red raincoat was squeezed in his grasp.

"Ahh," Ruby groaned.

"There is a box to hide in," Sapphire said.

"Okay."

Horror games were certainly more palatable with future vision handy.

**16\. Moonlight:**

On their first night on this planet, they walked under the moonlight through the green meadow. The meadow gave way to dirt, and it was silent.

Ruby was the one to look up first. "I hope whatever that is isn't following us."

"It is a moon. It is not affiliated with Homeworld."

"Ah." Ruby looked up once more. "It's still rude to follow us, don't you think?"

Sapphire was silent but did not stop walking. "Yes, I think so, too."

In some way, it was a comfort that something up there, big and untouched by Homeworld, was looking over them.

**17\. Front:**

Time went by in the blink of an eye. There would be plains replaced by tower cities, saplings that turned into trees, and mountains that eroded away into nothing.

Time seemed to come to a stop at amusement parks.

"Garnet, you can't just throw me to the front of the line," Steven protested. "They'll just send me to the back anyway!"

"But this is quicker."

"I'll skip the rollercoaster, then…"

**18\. Queue:**

At last, Steven managed to convince Garnet to stay in the queue with him. The rollercoaster was too tantalizing to ignore in favor of something less extreme, like a train ride.

Garnet stood stoically, letting Steven lay down on her head when his legs started aching and moving at a snail's pace.

At long last they were able to board the rollercoaster and Steven screamed at every twist and turn, his arms up in the air. His cheers were lost to the wind.

In the blink of an eye it was over and Steven stumbled off the rollercoaster cart.

"That was intense!" he laughed, trying to catch his breath.

"Indeed."

**19\. Bus:**

A new city had been built up while the Crystal Gems were out capturing gem monsters, and Rose marveled at the glittering towers as they walked through the city.

"They can almost reach the sun," she gushed. She reached out to them.

Pearl pinched her nose. "It stinks."

Garnet had a flicker of a thought that this would be true for most cities. Rose suddenly screamed, and she pointed at a rectangular, moving thing.

"Look, that monster has eaten humans!" she said, horrified. "I wasn't worried about the smaller ones, but that one is much too big for humans!"

She ran after the rectangular monster, Pearl close by, and Garnet stayed behind. Something felt like this was normal for humans.

"They must be late for the bus," one human beside her mused, and she ran off after them. Hopefully she would make it before Rose tried to attack the bus.

**20\. Stare:**

It was just a second, a brief moment of Sapphire colliding into her. It didn't phase the aristocratic gem and Ruby stood as stiff as she could, a good, model soldier.

Still, as Sapphire conversed with Blue Diamond, Ruby couldn't help but open her eyes, tilt her head and stare.


	3. 21-30

**21\. Massage:**

"Garnet!" Steven called, as he practically flung himself down the stairs, phone in hand. He ran to Garnet, who was sitting on the couch.

"Garnet!" He called again, pointing at his phone eagerly.

"Are you reminding me that a phone can count as a thousand years of no TV?"

"No, no," Steven said, frantically. "This is different, I swear! When I watch TV, I support big things, but watching videos on my phone is supporting… independent artists! Yeah!"

He quickly went through his phone, and found a video. A woman stood in front of a white wall, and explained that she was a masseuse and was going to show a simple massage routine to use at home.

"Some of the comments said that sometimes it's too hot or cold," Steven said, as he paused the video. "But I think your hands would have equili… equ… they would have balance!"

"Hmm." Garnet patted the cushion beside her. "I see. Would you like to test this theory?"

"Yeah!" Steven flung himself to the cushion and showed her the technique. Garnet got to work on massaging his shoulders, prodding at the tight muscles.

"Are massages supposed to hurt?" Steven asked. He cringed at a particularly tight spot.

"Do you stretch?"

"No…"

After a few moments of the massage, Garnet asked, "Is your theory correct?"

"It feels nice now! Normal temperature… Yeah, it's right!"

**22\. Wine:**

As Garnet perused the selection the humans presented to her, she could see why they thought wine was a delicious drink. The color was palatable, rich red, and the shape filled in nicely. Or at least that's what she thought.

But she remembered how it was made long ago, grapes crushed by feet and then fermented, and she politely decline.

**23\. Searching:**

Rose came back alone. She said that she and Bismuth had walked out of the forge together but a sudden storm occurred and they lost each other. She searched for the gem for hours.

Garnet was the one that organized search parties, her future vision limiting the probabilities of where their friend could be; sporadic but she would take anything.

She saw a muddy vision, hardwood floor and a boy, and thought that perhaps a family found Bismuth and was taking care of her. She directed the Bismuth searching to human homes but found nothing.

In time they had to concede that she must've been captured by Homeworld. Garnet comforted Pearl and Rose, for the loss of their dear friend.

**24\. Toxic:**

Malachite screamed and thrashed as she was forced under the water, the toxic form morphing even as she was submerged.

It was dead quiet, save for the ship's crackling flames and when Garnet's thoughts came to together she only said one thing.

"Wow. They are really bad for each other."

**25\. Forget:**

When Rose decided to give Garnet a more informative tour of Earth, she disappeared with her renegade Pearl to work out the fastest and best way to show their new friend around.

Garnet stayed by the thicket, looking up at the sky.

"I really liked your song," she said.

"Thank you," she replied.

"I mean, I really liked it. Like I don't think I'll ever forget it."

"That's very sweet."

"If we… if I… if we ever get separated, I'll listen for that song. I'll know where you are."

"It's a plan. But I'd rather stay like this for now."

**26\. Stripped:**

The water was tepid, Garnet noted, as she submerged herself in it. Rose was already in it, and Pearl slipped in without making so much as a ripple. The sun was unusually hot, Garnet added to herself, so that must have been why the water was not cold.

A human swam past, and Garnet blinked when she realized what was different about him. His outer shell had been stripped off, and it was cast away on the riverbank.

"Rose," she said, trying to walk through the water to her. It was rather difficult. "Is he going to be okay? He's not going to… ah, die, is he?"

"Humans adapt well to water," Rose said cheerfully.

"Not that, his shell. It's gone."

"Ah, that. It's actually easier for humans to swim without those! They get very heavy, you see."

Garnet nodded, as more humans gathered to swim in the refreshing river.

**27\. Cheating:**

Steven stared at his Uno cards very hard. Pearl waited patiently, ordering her own cards in different patterns. Amethyst at one point brought one of her cards close to her mouth, but then thought better of the idea.

Garnet went over the outcomes, each and every one, from the reverse to the wild card. It was rather easy to pinpoint a likely outcome. She selected a possibility and made it known.

"You are going to draw four cards," she said.

Steven groaned loudly when he saw the card. "Garnet, don't use future vision! That's cheating."

"Ah, that's strategy." She smiled.

**28\. Online:**

Steven was on his phone when Garnet came back on the Warp Pad. He got up from the couch and excitedly ran to her, waving his phone.

"Look, look, Garnet! There's going to be another Dogcopter movie!"

"Is there?" She asked, kneeling down to his level.

"Yep! Someone just uploaded the trailer online! Let's watch it together!"

"All right, Steven."

He cheered again, and ran back to the couch. He got the video ready, and waited for Garnet to sit down beside him.

"Huh, weird music," he said as the video started. It was a tinkling sound, like a broken music box. "Look closely here to see the new trailer? Okay!"

Garnet grabbed the phone, a few seconds before a bloodcurdling scream came from the phone, and a zombie face popped up.

"There is no new Dogcopter movie at the moment, Steven."

"What?" Steven took the phone back and looked through the comments. "Aww, you're right. Everyone is calling this a screamer."

He slumped down, and Garnet pulled him back up.

"Don't worry, Steven. I can See that there will be a new movie in… hmm, perhaps two more years?"

He immediately perked up. "Oh, thank goodness for future vision!"

**29\. Climbing:**

The way down the mountain was a lot more perilous than going up. Even Amethyst regarded the path with caution.

Pearl had been worried about Steven climbing down the mountain. She rattled off many possibilities until she nearly scared herself to the point of covering her mouth and breathing heavily, to which Garnet posed a solution.

Steven, who had not been able to get a word in edgewise, was tied tightly to Garnet's back.

"This is kinda nice," he said, his arms locked around Garnet's shoulders. He was free to look at the scenery, the forest below wide and beautiful.

**30\. Speed:**

"Look out, Garnet!"

"It's fine, I can see the danger."

"You've gotta keep your speed up! Oh no, you're gonna crash!"

The virtual car slammed into the guardrail and Steven screamed dramatically. He fell off the fake car seat, and climbed onto Garnet's seat.

"You almost made it to the end!" He said, pointing at the leader board scores, bright and cheery.

"Pea is far too good for us to comprehend."

"Darn you, Pea! Teach us your driving skills!" Steven exclaimed.

"You have to drift," Pearl called from the Whack-a-Moles.


	4. 31-40

**31\. Eating out:**

Garnet balanced the bag of groceries as she led Steven down the board walk. He was trying to jump on the cracks in the boards, stomping hard as he came down.

"Burgers!" He said, pointing at the stand.

"No, Steven," Garnet said, "No eating out tonight. Your father will make you hamburgers tonight."

"But they aren't as big!" At five years old, he'd already perfected the puppy-dog eyes. His chin wobbled for extra effect.

"And you will not eat it because it is too big," Garnet said. "I distinctly remember a hamburger with one bite taken out of it, Steven."

He went quiet then, dragging his feet and sulking. It was no problem for Garnet to keep walking forward easily.

**32\. Admire:**

It was hard to not admire Pearl. She'd shaken off orders and run away with a quartz soldier. It was rather similar to Garnet, the newly named fusion watching as Pearl practiced her strategy for fighting.

She said it then, to which Pearl stopped and perhaps would've stumbled if she could've afforded to; years of Homeworld conditioning had staved off clumsiness.

"But I, I admire you," she stammered, "You ran from, from, well… it's… you're simply wonderful!"

She got tongue-tied then and didn't say anything more. It was rather uplifting to hear that someone admired Garnet, just as she was.

**33\. Thrilled:**

The question had been, "What should we get Steven for his birthday?" a question that was mulled over time and time again.

"Get him one of those new doodads," Amethyst called from the kitchen when Pearl asked once again.

"You know I can't tell one of those from the other!"

"I have an idea," Garnet said. "We'll show… Ah, we'll show him Ruby and Sapphire."

The suggestion hung in the air for a while, going over it, until Pearl clapped her hands together.

"You're a genius, Garnet! He's going to be thrilled."

She drew out a paper from her gem, presumably the list of gift ideas, and added it, back to looking over the numerous present suggestions.

As Pearl went to Amethyst to ask what some of the ideas actually were, Garnet kept one thought to herself; she hoped Steven wouldn't cry like last time he'd seen Ruby and Sapphire.

**34\. Shadow:**

When they were on Homeworld, a ruby was in the shadow of a sapphire. Easily replaced, easily remade, never hoping to meet the usefulness that a sapphire could provide.

Ruby couldn't shake that, sometimes. But when it became more infrequent, more obvious that they were equals here, Sapphire felt relief.

**35\. Coming home:**

The whole Earth used to be called home. Every inch, every space was there for them, a haven carved out from the very dirt.

There were arid deserts, vibrant jungles, freezing mountaintops, and everything in-between.

The entire Earth was the Crystal Gem's home, a home for Garnet.

But there was something precious about coming home, a place that was consistent.

**36\. Anywhere:**

Garnet could look ahead to the future, but once in a while she indulged in the past. She indulged in a question.

She could've been formed anywhere, on any planet and perhaps disappeared forever; a whisper among Homeworld that would eventually be silenced. As if she never existed.

But she fell here, on the Earth. It was a reason that she was grateful for, something too wonderful to fully articulate.

**37\. Lonely road:**

Garnet walked alone on the dirt road, back to the temple. It was a dusty, hot night with only the sounds of crickets. The moon was orange and drifted close to the stalks of corn that surrounded the dirt road.

Garnet had freed a corn from the stalk and was carrying it back for Rose. She would love to examine it, to see the ridges and the kernels.

Her inanimate companion's leaves clung to it, like a blanket. Garnet did not stop to clean it of the leaves, because it would need to be perfect for Rose.

She stepped along the dirt road, her sight straight ahead. She would half expect a pair of children to run down the road, barefoot and happy, carrying bushels of corn for their mother. She fancied a cat to fly over the corn stalks, into the night sky.

Only Garnet walked this lonely road.

**38\. Electricity:**

Garnet worked on wrapping the bandage around Steven's hand, the slight burn soothed by the antibiotic ointment. Even dabbing a towel on the wound when he'd finished washing his hands made him flinch and Garnet spared a vengeful thought to the device that caused this injury.

"Good thing it wasn't electricity." Steven tried to laugh after saying this but only managed a few seconds before adding, "Ow."

"Electricity can still leave burns," Garnet said as she finished tying the gauze. Maybe he was too old for it but Garnet pressed a light kiss to the bandage anyway.

"What happened to the coffee maker?" Pearl called from the kitchen. More than likely she found the coffee maker broken up, having slid over the counter and fallen onto the floor.

"It burned Steven so I punched it," Garnet called back. "Sorry, Pearl."

**39\. Coffee break:**

"I want coffee," Steven announced at breakfast. He got up to put his plate in the sink.

"Coffee," Garnet repeated. She began washing the plate, having the feeling that Steven was still staring at her.

When she looked down her suspicions were confirmed. His gaze turned to the coffee maker.

"It's a coffee break," he explained. "I wanna know how that feels like."

"Hmm."

Garnet brought down a mug from the cupboards and placed it on the counter. She added the coffee grounds to the maker and refreshed the water inside. Before long a mild coffee had brewed and she poured it into the mug.

"Do you want milk?" she asked as she handed the mug to an eager Steven.

"No, it's okay! I wanna see how this tastes on its own," he said.

He took a big gulp and his face screwed up. He stuck out his tongue and shivered.

"Bitter!"

"Give it here," Garnet said. He gave her the mug and she drank the coffee in one go. There was the faintest taste of something bitter.

"Don't like it," Steven said. He tried to take control of the facet to wash out the taste but Garnet was already using it to wash out the mug.

"Aw, you did your best," Steven said, his hand coming to rest on the hot glass of the coffee maker.

"Steven-"

What followed was a scream, immediately led up to Garnet punching the coffee maker, with the coffee maker falling off the counter and the glass shattering. It was silent for just a moment before Steven yelled in pain again.

"Steven," Garnet said, as she took his hand. It was red, but not blistering. "Go to the bathroom and wash this. I'll get the glass."

He nodded, tears in his eyes, and walked to the bathroom. Garnet went to work on clearing up the glass. That was more dangerous than a broken machine.

**40\. Chained:**

The chains of water were tight around Malachite, something powerful that would hold until the end of the world. It could be considered a blessing that she was chained on a planet that was more water than land.

But it was not a blessing. It was twisted and malicious, feeding off of anger and hatred. If Garnet had seen this in her first moments it would've made her shake fearfully.


	5. 41-50

**41\. Watermelon:**

Garnet regarded the watermelon in front of her. It looked quite good; something healthy for Steven to enjoy, while also getting a sweet taste of water. It was fresh, and she Saw that if she cut it open it would be perfect inside.

But something stopped her from picking up the fruit and putting it in the shopping cart.

"Should we get it?" Pearl asked tentatively. "It's still… well…"

"I can barely look at watermelon right now," Amethyst replied flatly. "This is just gonna make Steven upset."

"She's right," Garnet said. And so they moved on without the perfect fruit.

**42\. Paper:**

Garnet folded over the paper, and it soon became a multicolored cicada. She placed it on the table and watched as Steven wrestled with forming a paper crane.

Eventually he got the paper to fold correctly and a paper crane joined the cicada. Steven smiled brightly at his creation.

"Ruby and Sapphire should do some origami. I bet they'd be really good at it," he said, cajoling.

"I believe," Garnet said as she folded another cicada, "that Ruby may accidentally burn the paper and Sapphire will freeze it when she is nervous about following the instructions."

"Ah, I see," Steven said, disappointed but understanding. "Those instructions are hard to follow!"

**43\. Endangered:**

When Garnet first heard this it shook her to her very core. She'd heard rumors, whispers, but never could've imagined that it could be true.

"You shattered Pink Diamond," she said, plainly. It didn't sound real even when it came from her own mouth.

"Homeworld was making the humans endangered. Pink Diamond's orders. It had to be done," Rose said, darkly. It sounded like she was trying to convince herself.

**44\. Fragrant:**

Gems did not have a natural fragrance. It was not needed therefore it was not applied. All that they wore were the smells that clung to them when they returned from their work. Some stayed sterile in smell forever.

Here on Earth, the smells were overwhelming.

Ruby had fallen against Sapphire again and gotten a face full of her hair. The smell hit her all at once, the sweet smell of fresh grass and faint wildflowers. It smelled so good that Ruby couldn't think to step back.

Finally, her thoughts collected themselves and she fell back. The fragrant was still burrowed in her nostrils as Sapphire held out her hand.

**45\. Wasted:**

There was a network of rubies, ones that trained together and worked together. The effort of fusion was practiced, to fight against adversaries.

Sapphires perfected their vision, never moving for periods of a time. It was delicate work that was never to be interrupted.

Perhaps they would look at her and call her wasted potential.

It made her work harder.

**46\. Sheltered:**

Sometimes Garnet wondered whether it would come to pass that Steven would never fully know what happened.

Perhaps it was better to keep him in the dark about this. If it was better to keep him sheltered, to never reveal the war, or the true nature of the gem monsters and where they came from.

It didn't make it any easier to fight back when she thought she could recognize them.

Whatever came to pass would, and she would let him believe what he believed now. There was no point in bombarding him with these painful thoughts or tainted memories.

**47\. Nosebleed:**

When they came back from a mission Garnet thought everything was fine. The gem monster had shot out rocks as an attack but they were easily deflected. She looked down at Steven, who was covering his mouth and nose with his hands.

"What are you doing, Steven?"

"Nothing." His voice was strangely congested.

"Steven, why are you covering up your face?" she asked. Pearl and Amethyst were looking at him curiously now.

"No reason." He opened up his hands, which were red on the palms.

Pearl suddenly yelled his name and Garnet saw blood drip down Steven's face.

"Oh," she said, in the midst of the chaos.

"Steven, it's going to be okay," Pearl was on a roll, "Hold your head- hold it up, no, no keep your head down! Ice, we need ice-"

"Amethyst, get Greg," Garnet said. "Pearl, get the ice pack."

Amethyst was out the door in an instant, and Pearl ran to the kitchen to get the pack.

Steven was looking down, a miserable expression on his face, perhaps not just from the nosebleed.

"Sorry for making you worry," he said, pinching the soft area above his bloodied nose.

"It is okay, Steven." She rested her hand on his back. "You are going to be fine."

**48\. Played for a fool:**

Even with the restrictions placed by Homeworld, it could be an advantage to have been born as these gems.

A lone ruby soldier could dismantle an entire army by one faulty mistake.

A lone sapphire would not be questioned. Her vision just happened to lead an army to a swooping defeat by Crystal Gems.

Homeworld never would expect their rules and restrictions to lead to being played for a fool.

**49\. Fireplace:**

The wood in the fireplace crackled under the fire, filling the room with warmth. Steven, having had his fill of marshmallows, took to comparing the various flickers in the fire with Connie.

They'd agreed that one ember made the fire look like a phoenix when Garnet settled down behind them.

She was more interested in the puffy, leftover marshmallows. She picked one up and squeezed the solidified sugar. How humans could stand to eat something so sweet she'd never know.

**50\. Cuddle:**

The fire was dying out now, and Garnet watched the remaining embers flicker over the blackened wood. The situation she was in right now was comforting and she was lucky her limbs would not grow sore.

Steven had settled in for a cuddle on the right side of her, Connie on the left side. They'd fallen asleep by the fireplace, with blankets over them.

The bowl of leftover marshmallows was empty now, and Garnet made a mental note to wash it of the sugary stickiness.

But for now it was time to let them sleep. She hummed a lullaby quietly.


	6. 51-60

**51\. Fireflies:**

The night sky was alight with fireflies, the little bugs flying just so out of reach. Sapphire reached up, standing perfectly still, and one of the fireflies flitted down to the tip of her finger. She still stood perfectly still as the bug got back up and rejoined the other fireflies in the sky.

Ruby outstretched her hand as well, staring up at the fireflies, until one flew down to her. It landed on top of her hand and crawled around to her palm, resting on the gem. Ruby cradled the bug in her hand, her fingers almost enclosing the delicate light.

The firefly flew off again, and the rest of them flew off into the night sky.

As they watched, Ruby said, sullenly, "Sapphire, I think I hate good-byes."

**52\. Pills:**

"Pills?" Garnet asked from Steven's bedside.

"It's what the doctor prescribed," Pearl lamented as she walked up the stairs. "I tried asking her if there was a liquid medicine but this was it."

She took out the package and opened it up, shaking out the pill bottle. "He has to take it twice every few hours. Is Amethyst back with the groceries?"

"Not yet," Garnet replied.

"All right. I'll get water instead."

As Pearl went to get the water, Garnet gently shook him awake. He tried to say her name but coughed instead.

"Steven, don't worry," she said when he got his breath back. "Your father will be here soon to help cook."

"The Super… super-duper cold remover," Steven said. "I hope he doesn't get sick, too."

"As long as you take your medicine I think he will be fine."

"Oh. That."

Pearl returned with the water and gave it to Steven. She opened up the pill bottle and gave him the required amount.

"You have to take it," she said.

"It'll be worse if you ignore it," Garnet added.

"I know," Steven said as he looked down at the daunting medicine. "Just wish my half-gem… gemness… meant I got half sick."

He closed his eyes and put the pills in his mouth, followed by a quick swig of water. He didn't open them until he finished drinking the water.

"Good job," Pearl said. She smiled as she took the bottle and the glass.

"Rest for now," Garnet said. "We will wake you up when your super-duper cold remover is ready."

Steven nodded and settled back down, sleeping almost instantaneously.

**53\. Endless night:**

The night went on and on, enough to where even a gem could tell something was wrong; even if the moonlight on the snow was ethereally beautiful.

"Shouldn't there be light soon?" Garnet asked Pearl as they walked through the snow. Rose had told them about a kindergarten way up here, one that was more isolated from Homeworld because of this weather.

"Ah, I wondered about that myself," Pearl said. She pointed at the dark sky. "In this part of Earth, the warm star does not appear for many cycles. It could be called endless night."

"Endless night," Garnet repeated.

**54\. Crawl:**

Garnet watched as Steven crawled along the floor, to his blocks. He picked one of them up and placed it on top of the other, babbling as he did so. He could only put three on the blocks before it got too tall for him.

They really did grow up in the blink of an eye. She'd remembered a small, squirmy baby that cried when she'd disappeared. In some silver lining, it was a comfort that he loved her then even when he didn't have any way to say words.

She broke out of her thoughts and found that Steven had moved on from the blocks, to the plush, grey rabbit on the shelf a ways away.

"You will grow up to be very fast," she said as she scooped up the happily babbling toddler and his plush, grey rabbit.

**55\. Invisible:**

In Homeworld, it would be very hard to be considered invisible; even if she was accepted, it did not matter. If she had no discernable use then she would be tossed aside quickly. Her life would continue on as a fugitive.

Here, there were so many that were different, their reasoning for companionship, romance, friendship, reaching out for one another. All bound by love. It was a comfort for Garnet.

**56\. Wealth:**

Ruby stood against the glass pane, almost pressing her face against it. There was a wealth of stars that went out and out. They flickered and seemingly danced. It was too much to comprehend, so she didn't hear the instructions.

"There will be rogue gems on this planet," the Tiger Eye instructed the other two rubies. "You must be vigilant. You are protecting a sapphire, after all. Put in a good impression for Blue Diamond and her court, if you know what's good for you."

She suddenly shouted, "You!" and Ruby whirled around.

"Y-yes, ma'am!"

"You did hear what I said, correct?" she asked warningly.

"Yes, yes. Protect the sapphire, and… and impress our Blue Diamond and her court."

The Tiger Eye's eyebrow went up once before she evidently surmised that it was an acceptable answer.

"Do not let yourself become distracted again."

Ruby nodded as she joined the other rubies. She vowed to protect this sapphire with her life.

**57\. Power:**

The Diamonds were the highest power. This was unquestioned. Sapphires were not quite as powerful as the Diamonds, but commanded great authority. Rubies were powerful, but mass produced, strength in angry, large numbers.

Garnet was the usurper of this mentality.

**58\. Desolate:**

Sapphire stood alone. She watched the land below as the ship landed. Soon she would meet with Blue Diamond, accompanied by her rubies, and the production on Earth would continue. A jam in the cog that would be dislodged and forgotten.

Some part of Sapphire mourned the beauty below her. Someday it would become dry and desolate, for the good of gems. It was a sacrifice that was well known.

**59\. Tissues:**

Garnet stepped off the warp pad, reminding herself to take account of the bubbles down below. She saw Pearl sitting at the counter, a tissue box in front of her. There were discarded tissues along the floor. Pearl was staring intently at the box.

She suddenly swiped, and the tissue paper flitted upward, before softly landing on the floor. This continued for a few times, Garnet staring, trying to figure out what Pearl was doing.

"Pearl," she said, finally.

"Oh, oh!" Pearl exclaimed. She looked around like she was broken out of a trance. She saw the tissue paper on the floor. "Oh. Oh, goodness, I've made a mess."

Garnet walked closer to her.

"It was just, well, just so _fun_," Pearl said.

Garnet took a swipe at the remaining tissue. It went upward before slowly floating down.

"You're right."

**60\. Varnish:**

The work on the house had come to a bit of a standstill because Amethyst had gotten hit by a stray beam. It was taking her a while to reform, so Pearl took over her job for now.

Garnet had finished putting the next wall up and was watching Greg apply a liquid over the dried paint. It smelled much more pungent than paint.

"What is that?" she asked.

"It's varnish!" Greg said. He lifted up the can of it so that Garnet could look at the clear liquid within. "It makes the wood shiny."

Garnet hummed approvingly and looked at her gems.

"Do you suppose it will make these shine?"

"Ah, um. I think it's just for wood, Garnet."


	7. 61-70

**61\. Careful:**

Steven packed up a bug catching box and a net, a new straw hat on his head. At Garnet's behest, he slathered sunscreen on until he smelled like a coconut factory.

"I'm off!" he called as he left, the front door clattering. His journey to catch a legendary bug began.

"Be careful," Garnet added as he went down the stairs.

**62\. Dirty:**

It was nearly dusk. Pearl was a little worried, not entirely so, especially after Garnet reassured her that she told Steven to wear a lot of sunscreen.

His dinner was on the counter, still warm. Amethyst had one of her own, and would pick at it a little as they waited for him to come home.

Finally, they heard loud footsteps up the stairs, and Steven appeared in front of the door. He was visibly dirty, dirt caked on his legs with a little blood mixed in, and the area up to his forearms was covered with dried mud.

He took the time to kick off his shoes outside and he came inside.

"Look what I found!" he said. A monarch butterfly was resting on a branch inside the box.

"Steven, go take a bath," Pearl said immediately. He didn't seem hurt by the command, as he gingerly put the box on the counter and ran to the bathroom.

Afterward the bath and dinner, Garnet watched as Steven set the butterfly free, its orange wings flying with the ocean breeze.

**63\. Circus:**

"The circus," Steven clarified as he pointed at the TV. "That's what I want to go to."

Garnet watched the screen. There were displays of hot popcorn, cacophonic music, and something that Garnet remembered from days long past.

A troupe of humans, wearing large outfits with stripes or polka-dots. Their heads shaven, or wearing curly orange wigs or hair wispy and stretched out. Some wore laughing masks. The vast majority were caked with make-up, an artificial smile painted on.

Garnet shivered.

"Are you absolutely sure that you want to go?"

**64\. Engagement:**

Rose had called for Garnet when she arrived back at the temple. Garnet appeared rather quickly, and tilted her head at her friend's expression.

"Rose? Are you all right?"

"I, well, I'm perfectly fine," Rose said. "It was just, well."

"Well what?"

"Greg asked for an engagement, for a marriage," Rose explained. "And he presented a ring. It was a very nice ring!"

Garnet nodded. She had expected this to occur at some point.

"But, well. The ring had a diamond."

"Not a real one, correct?"

"Of course not! Just the same as how a human and a boar are meat but are widely different, but…"

There was something in Garnet, despite the ice between her and the Diamonds that made her eyebrows furrow.

"It's… it's very strange, isn't it?"

"That's it!" Rose replied, relieved. "It was just plain weird!"

**65\. Junction:**

When Ruby let go of the frog, it made a strange, gurgling noise and hopped back into the water. Ruby looked at Sapphire once, as if for confirmation, before following the creature down the river.

It swam down the river, occasionally resting on a rock. Ruby and Sapphire in turn would watch it, seeing the way its mouth gurgled and made that strange noise again.

Eventually they lost the frog at the junction at the river, as it quickly swam in the other direction. It was a good frog indeed.

**66\. Barren:**

Garnet walked along in this kindergarten. The devices to drill deep into the earth were broken and stood motionless, like statues. There were holes, gem-shaped, all across the cliffs and ground. Some that were obviously frantic, gems that pushed out early.

The earth was completely barren and would remain this way forever.

Though this abandoned place meant that gems would never crawl out of here ever again, Garnet could not help a spiteful smile at the Diamonds that commanded this.

**67\. Lipstick:**

Sapphire had found the black capsule on the ground, still clean. She pulled at it, finding a long, red tube. She looked at the side of the capsule, reading, "lipstick," and she put the capsule to her lips.

It certainly did not stick, and she had to reach out to catch it. It left small, red imprints on her gloves. Sapphire tested it, drawing a finger along the tube. The red smeared and crushed down.

"What are you doing?" Ruby asked curiously.

"I found this," Sapphire said. She gave the mangled capsule to Ruby, who looked at the capsule.

"Can you eat it?"

"No, I'm not quite sure what to do with it," Sapphire replied.

In the end, they tried to assemble the tube back to its original shape as best they could and left it back on the ground.

**68\. Shirt:**

Garnet found the shirt not long after Steven's birth. It was folded up neatly in a box of old mementoes and smelled strongly of Rose.

She held the shirt closely and breathed in. For just a moment she could pretend that Rose was here, smiling down at her newborn baby.

**69\. Shortbread:**

"What would you like for dinner tonight, Steven?" Pearl asked as she wrote out the list.

"Shortbread," he replied cheekily.

"You can't have shortbread for dinner."

"Aw, Pearl," Amethyst chimed in. "He has good taste! And he did take down that one gem monster while we were all poofed…"

"He did," Garnet added, approvingly.

Steven looked back at Pearl with hopeful eyes. She looked away.

"All right. Just this once."

**70\. Groceries:**

Steven carried the shortbread to the cart, as Pearl perused her groceries list and Garnet reached up for a box of pasta. Amethyst had been sent for a choice in the two treats per week.

"Do we need butter as well?" Garnet asked as she put the pasta in the cart.

"There's still some in the refrigerator. Unless Steven tries to make brownies again."

"Sorry," he said sheepishly.

Amethyst returned with a gigantic case of chocolate bars. "This counts as one treat."

She was immediately sent back to the aisle.


	8. 71-80

**71\. Speakers:**

It only took a moment for Garnet to poof the overseer of the kindergarten, the gem falling down and clinking on the ground. She placed it, gingerly, on the monitor. Rose did not condone shattering.

She looked over the kindergarten, the workers looking around anxiously. They'd wanted to join the Crystal Gems but were deathly afraid of their overseer.

Sometimes it was hard to shake off the fear even when they clearly outnumbered those above them.

Garnet spoke into the intercom, her voice clear on the speakers.

"Congratulations, everyone. You are free to become a part of the Crystal Gems!"

**72\. Under the influence:**

Sometimes Sapphire wondered why she and others like her were ever under the influence of the Diamonds. If, in a different world, they could be like humans. Born and choosing their destinies, traveling on their terms.

For now, she was glad to be free. She had someone to fight for.

**73\. Odd socks:**

"I'm ready!" Steven called from his room. He walked down the stairs to Garnet, standing next to the door. She looked down at his feet.

"Steven, you are wearing odd socks," she said.

His socks were a mix match, a green sock on one foot and the other an orange sock. He looked down at them, lifting his leg.

"It's a fusion!" Steven said. "Even though they're different, they work well together, don't they?"

Garnet put her hand to her chin, as if lost in thought. She took her hand away and nodded.

"Yes, you are right, Steven." She smiled.

**74\. Spatula:**

The together breakfast was coming along nicely. Amethyst had just finished popping the popcorn, and her appetizer was the bag that came with it. Pearl warmed up the syrup, and Steven waited eagerly with the strawberries and whipped cream. Garnet worked on the waffles, flipping them over carefully with the spatula.

It was an unorthodox breakfast but a happy one.

**75\. Watching:**

Garnet exited her room, looking for Pearl. She'd figured out where the runaway gem monster may have gone and wanted to plan for an attack.

She found Pearl seated at the foot of Steven's bed, watching him sleep.

"Pearl," she said lowly, so as not to wake Steven.

"I know," she replied quietly. "I wasn't here for that long."

Garnet sat down beside her. "He hasn't needed this for a very long time."

"I know," she replied. "But, well. I still remember. How human babies are fragile, what they need, and even now sleep can be dangerous, everything is dangerous, but… he can do… so much on his own."

It was quiet for a while, before Garnet rested a hand on Pearl's shoulder.

"It is hard to realize that he's grown so much."

"Yeah." Pearl managed a smile. "It is."

**76\. Sweat:**

There was something that humans did when they got very hot. Rose called it sweat, but whatever it was the watery substance was disgusting. Garnet didn't like to touch humans when they came back from hunting or the produce fields.

**77\. Closer:**

In the days that followed after Homeworld left, it was hard for Garnet to stay formed. Sometimes they would try, but she would shake and disappear after a few unsteady steps.

Eventually Ruby and Sapphire agreed that they'd be on their own for a while. Sometimes it was awkward under Pearl's worried gaze and Rose's melancholy one but it was too difficult right now.

When Ruby decided to look through the kindergartens to see if anybody survived, she found Sapphire in one of the holes. It was much too big for her, and it echoed her sobs.

"Ruby," she said, when she saw the other gem. She tried to wipe away the trail her tears made. Ruby merely sat down beside her.

Ruby awkwardly rested her hand on Sapphire's shoulder. It started the tears afresh.

"Sapphire," Ruby tried to say, but her own words were choked by tears, too.

"How could they do that?" Sapphire asked, "I didn't See it. If I did, then maybe, maybe-"

"I didn't See it, either," Ruby said desperately.

It was quiet. Sapphire pushed herself closer to Ruby.

"It hurts. It hurts, Ruby."

Ruby held onto her, buried her face into Sapphire's shoulder.

"I know."

**78\. Turning point:**

"What was the turning point for the war?" Steven asked over a bowl of cereal.

"Hmm?"

"I mean," Steven continued, "You know, there's always a reason, so… why was there a war at all?"

"Why there was no negotiation," Garnet finished.

It wasn't the time to tell him. It wasn't the time to tell him of the shattering of Pink Diamond, someone that was irreplaceable in the eyes of Homeworld; the other factors, gems going against their station, fusion, endless destruction. Or that Homeworld had taken their revenge in their own destruction of irreplaceable friends.

"Sometimes there's no obvious solution."

**79\. Mercy:**

The movie showed the Magnificent Peter had the villainous Lord Sludge at his mercy. But as the Magnificent Peter drew the sword ever closer to the immobilized Lord Sludge, the vile villain cried out, "Mercy!"

The TV decided then to pause and Steven got up to smack it.

"Make the right choice, Peter," Pearl said as Steven tried to get the TV to work again.

"He can't show mercy right?" Amethyst asked. "He didn't do it for any of those other bad dudes, so he'd just look stupid."

"That was sleep serum," Steven protested. He shook the TV a little. "That always happens. There's always funny scenes where they wake up in weird places."

"There was one where a minion woke up next to a shark tank. That was humorous," Garnet added.

Finally, the picture came into focus and Steven hurried back to his seat.

The camera focused on Magnificent Peter's face, his expression one of conflict. He sheathed his sword and walked away. Right then, Lord Sludge silently got himself free and struck the Magnificent Peter unconscious.

"That was… unexpectedly violent," Pearl said as the credits rolled. "Steven, you are certain this is appropriate for your age group?"

"I'm sure!"

He hurriedly got up to put in the next tape, detailing the Magnificent Peter's escape from his new predicament.

**80\. Under pressure:**

There was a lot to discover under the vast ocean; the fish and mammals that resided underwater, swathes of jellyfish, and the strangest of creatures, deep, deep below.

Rose often wanted to bring a human down there and when Pearl wasn't around, Garnet would remind her that even with her air tight shield humans didn't do very well under pressure.


	9. 81-90

**81\. News:**

Steven had been walking to and from the drawer where they kept the paper, taking out a few sheets every now and then. Sometimes Garnet would hear the clicking of a stapler as she cleaned the kitchen.

When the sink was finely scrubbed, Steven ran up to Garnet, his hands filled with paper.

"I finished it!"

"Finished what?"

"Our town news!" He said as he gave it to her.

The front page detailed the new shipment of donuts at the Big Donut. It was a strawberry jelly donut and at a very good price right now. The second page held a list of opinions, and drawings of the people that said them. The third page detailed the sales on the boardwalk. Mr. Smiley's amusement park went up two patrons.

The last page was a collection of comics.

"When will this arrive on people's doorstep?"

"Monthly! My hand is kinda sore."

**82\. Candy:**

The aisle stretched out before them, the brands blue and red and yellow and green. Amethyst and Steven were exchanging their opinions on the treats, by which had more flavor or were sugary, or lasted for a long time. They looked over the boxes together.

"The candy aisle is certainly colorful," Pearl said as she looked up and down the shelves.

"They all taste like sugar to me," Garnet replied.

**83\. Whistle:**

There was a strange noise over this plain, something that rustled the tall grass. Ruby walked through the grass to find this source, eventually yelling for whatever it was to stop making that noise and come out.

"Is it the wind?" Sapphire asked, holding out her hand to feel the air.

"Even if it is the wind, it should learn some manners," Ruby replied. She made a whistle out of grass and made a loud noise to rival the wind.

**84\. Umbrella:**

The umbrella was propped against the door, a vibrant red. Outside, despite the early morning, the clouds were starting to darken.

Garnet picked up the umbrella and put it in its proper place. She didn't need future vision to know that Steven would want to go outside when it rained.

**85\. Rain:**

Just as she predicted, when Steven woke up and saw the rain he jumped out of bed to get dressed. He grabbed his raincoat and put it on.

"Garnet! Let's go walk in the rain!"

"Eat your breakfast first."

Steven ran down the stairs to the bathroom. Garnet heard a facet run, and then shut off, and then Steven was at the counter.

Steven ate his breakfast quickly while Garnet made a note for Pearl and Amethyst that they were going for a walk.

Not too long after, they were at the door and walked out together to the rain.

**86\. Jump:**

Already the sand had been darkened by the rain, and Garnet lifted Steven up from it after he nearly slips one too many times.

She let him down when they are on solid ground and he walked beside her, occasionally looking up to see the rain drops fall.

There was a large puddle on the concrete; it was big enough for a lake. Steven's smile got wider and he looked up at Garnet for confirmation.

"Go ahead, Steven," she said.

He cheered and ran to jump, the water splashing everywhere.

**87\. Park bench:**

"Are you cold, Steven?"

"Nope!" He just barely stopped chattering his teeth.

Garnet decided to let him take this choice. The rain continued on as they walked.

Eventually they found a park bench in these woods, and Garnet led Steven to the bench.

When they sat down he curled up very close to her, shivering.

"All right. Let's go home," she said when she felt the shivers.

Garnet effortlessly picked him up, with no protest, and began the walk home.

**88\. Flying:**

It wasn't something that Ruby reflected on until they'd found shelter for now.

Falling through the sky like that was utterly terrifying to be sure. Especially from that height, in the sky. Especially when there were thoughts that screamed, "You're going to break your gem, what if your Sapphire becomes injured, you need to get her back up there-"

For just a moment, though, it felt like she was flying.

**89\. Drought:**

The ocean was stolen, leaving a dried husk of a beach in its wake.

Though humans could not drink salt water, the ocean was practically a credit to their life. Garnet had seen droughts before, seen what happened when humans did not get their allocated water.

Sometimes even Rose's tears were not sufficient for the damage.

This was unacceptable, this enormous theft. A threat against humans, and the very Earth.

They had to get the ocean back, no matter what.

**90\. Sword:**

The first time Garnet saw the sword in battle she nearly got herself destroyed before she managed to land a punch against the morganite beryl's jaw.

It was hard to blame her. Watching Rose fight was rather like dancing; the elegant movement of sword and shield, before the final blow.


	10. 91-99

**91\. Butterflies:**

Rose showed them the branch, the one where two caterpillars inched along.

"See? Aren't they adorable?"

"They're very small," Ruby said. "What will they do?"

"Pearl and I have watched these little creatures many times," Rose said. "Watch."

Over the course of a few days, the caterpillars began to construct something over themselves, something that hung down from the branch.

"This is how they sleep," Sapphire surmised.

"Not quite."

Within the next few days, two winged creatures emerged from the construction, before getting a hold of themselves and clumsily flying through the air.

"Whoa!" Ruby tried to follow them but they soon flew out into the sky.

"They are butterflies. Isn't it interesting?"

"Have you seen any more?" Sapphire asked. "I did not get a good look at them?"

And so Rose took them to a field where butterflies flitted here and there. Ruby got easily distracted by the butterflies.

**92\. Waterfall:**

Ruby felt the water rush over her. It was cold, and she closed her eyes because the water splashed against them. In a way it was comforting, something rushing over her endlessly, and it was cold enough to withstand her body.

"Ruby? What are you doing?"

Ruby looked up and sputtered at the sudden water in her eyes. She got out from the waterfall and saw Sapphire there.

"Oh! Sapphire, this waterfall is… it's comforting! Give it a try!"

She helped Sapphire into the water and led her to the waterfall. They sat down, under it, together.

"Ruby, you're right."

**93\. Strawberries:**

The field of strawberries stretched out and Garnet looked down to make sure she hadn't lost Steven among the fruit. He was still at her side but his mouth was redder.

"How many have you eaten?"

"Three," he replied. He put the strawberry in his hand in the pail. Steven looked at the strawberries longingly.

"It will taste better with sugar," Garnet said.

"Just a little sugar, right?"

"Of course." He'd wanted her to say he could have more sugar on the strawberries but that wasn't in his best interest.

**94\. Dog:**

Garnet kept watch of the house while the others went out for grocery shopping. The construction of a space ship to help out Lars would result in hungry workers – or rather one, Steven.

Garnet regarded the cat in her lap, and the pumpkin dog sleeping against the cat. And there was a pink lion that curled up behind Garnet.

"Even by the most open-minded human, this would be unusual," she said to no one in particular.

But humans had seen unusual things, and besides; they'd find these unusual pets adorable.

Garnet spent most of her watch surrounded by the pets.

**95\. Powerless:**

We feel powerless, was their justification. We need to feel stronger.

Of course it was a horrible, choking sensation to feel powerless. Like your very gem was pressed down upon, threatening to break.

Garnet just wished that they had told her, before everything hung in the balance of being lost.

**96\. Exercise:**

The exercises on the beach continued for quite a while. Connie, when she was visiting, brought one of her big books as weight for push-ups.

"It's not gonna hurt your book, right?" Steven asked as he strained to keep the push-up position.

"I covered it up!" Connie reassured him, showing the brown paper bag cover. She put the book, gingerly on his back.

Among the cheers, Steven managed to do one push-up with the heavy book on his back. He let the push-up position fall, and he tried to get his breath back.

"I suppose I could've used my gauntlets as a weight," Garnet said when the cheers died down.

**97\. Book:**

Garnet regarded the book as Connie picked it back up.

"What is it about?" she asked.

"Oh!" Connie exclaimed. She looked a little put on the spot. "Geo… geography. It has all the maps of the whole world, and history, too!"

"I wanna read it," Steven said, tiredly, from the sand.

The rest of the exercise training for Steven was spent with Garnet and Connie, reading through the geography book.

**98\. Heart:**

Steven only protested his bedtime a little – apparently running around with Garnet had tired him out enough for her to carry him to bed.

He settled down easily beneath the sheets and Garnet leaned down to kiss the little boy's forehead. She turned to leave.

"Wait," Steven said, alertness tinged in his voice.

"Yes, Steven?"

"This," he said. His small hands were resting on the front of his pajamas. "What is this?"

Garnet pressed a hand there, and felt a strong heartbeat.

"Your heart."

Steven's face scrunched up at the answer and it didn't let up until he brushed his hands up to Garnet's chest.

"No."

"You do, little one. Not me. I do not have one."

His face became scrunched up again, before he came to a conclusion.

"Yes," he said, his hands making a wide, circular motion around her. "It's you."

Satisfied with his own answer, he turned to the pillow and closed his eyes, the conversation over.

**99\. Sea:**

As Garnet sat by the sea, she reflected on her first time seeing this. How Ruby and Sapphire found the shells as tools and the sand as a canvas, spreading the colors onto the vast beach.

The Earth was huge and unknown and entirely hers. There were no duties back then, just experiences that were strange and wonderful.

It was before the war occurred, when she realized that there was sadness to experience on the Earth, too. It would've been horribly crushing alone.

But she wasn't alone. Garnet had a family, now, and she never regretted taking on this life.


End file.
